It’s not often that Stephen A. Smith has to fight to get a word in on First Take. But following the first-ever showdown between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama on Thursday, Brian Windhorst made it tough for anyone else to get a word in.
“I don’t care what anybody says. I don’t care about any cases. The NBA is in an absolutely amazing era right now,” Windhorst said on Friday. “We’ve never seen anything like this. Honestly, I don’t want to hear anything about anything else. Because if you watched either of these games last night, there is no way you couldn’t be in love with what you saw.”
The longtime NBA reporter went on to rave about not only Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama, but fellow stars/unicorns Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid and Chet Holmgren. He even went onto suggest that every future matchup between the Greek Freak and Wemby should be nationally televised.
Windhorst didn’t stop there, as he continued to laud the state of the NBA’s talent and the unique nature of its young stars for four uninterrupted minutes. After discussing the way in which Jokić manipulates the basketball as if it were a small toy, Windhorst admitted to rambling, to which Smith couldn’t help but agree.
“You are, which you never do,” Smith said. “I was getting ready to say to you, ‘You’re supposed to leave something for me, Windy.’ You said it all. You’re absolutely right on point.”
As Smith proceeded to shower the NBA’s young stars with his own praise, all Windhorst could do was smile and nod along.
Windhorst is low key one of ESPN’s most versatile talents. In addition to being to being one of “The Worldwide Leader’s” top NBA reporters, the Akron, Ohio, native can hold his own opposite Smith on First Take in a manner that’s entertaining without sacrificing his credibility.
Sometimes, that’s by creating what is now one of NBA Twitter’s most famous memes. But on Friday, it was something as simple as being excited about the future of a league he’s now covered for more than two decades.
[ESPN]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.